When Heather McInroy was in high school, she had a friend who used Kids Help Phone.

After hearing about how much it helped her friend — and needing 40 hours of volunteer work to graduate — the Toronto resident became a student ambassador for the non-profit charity.
She soon completed her 40 hours, but decided to keep volunteering.

“I really liked the people I worked with and volunteered with,” said McInroy.

Now 20, the York University student has been volunteering with Kids Help Phone for six years. A student ambassador liaison, she does fundraisers and volunteer events, participates in the Walk for Kids Help Phone and speaks about the organizations at schools and for corporate sponsors.

Knowledge of the organization has changed since it began in 1989, said McInroy.

“Before, there were a lot of misconceptions about Kids Help Phone,” she said. “Now, when I go to schools, a lot of kids will already know about it.”

The organization has really grown, agreed Kids Help Phone Ottawa chapter chairman and past chairman of the Walk for Kids Help Phone committee Rob Dekker.

“I think there is a greater awareness of what Kids Help Phone is and what it does,” the Ottawa resident said.

The organization “does fabulous work for kids across the country and for local children as well,” he said.

Last year, there were 100,000 contacts through websites and phone calls from children in Ottawa, Dekker said. Canada-wide, there were 18 million contacts in 2009.

Kids ask about bullying, depression, drug use, peer pressure and how to deal with family situations, he said.

“It’s such an integral service,” he said. “Kids can connect immediately and confidentially.

“I think the website is key because the kids can go to the website and find a similar situation and follow the counsellor’s advice through the posting,” he said.

“When issues are too difficult to discuss, the concern is too embarrassing to share, or when a child feels they might burden a trusted adult, any kid with access to a phone or computer can reach out to Kids Help Phone,” said Sharon Wood, president and CEO of Kids Help Phone.

Dekker said he’s seen his own two kids, now 15 and 18, go through different things.

“I know they won’t come to me for everything,” he said, “but it’s important to me they have a place to go.”